TALES OF ADVENTURE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 50, 28 February 1923, Page 8

TALES OF ADVENTURE.

JUSTICE OF THE NORTH. (By ALAN SULLIVAN.) Some years ago, up in the Arctic wilderness of Northern Camilla, two Eskimos killed two Catholic priests. News travel," slowly in these icy wastes, and it was not till long afterwards that the North-West Mounted Police heard rumours of the. tragedy. A little patrol set forth to investigate. Here is the story of their quest—a vivid picture of life as It is to-day in the Far North.

Away up on the great Mackenzie River, in Can«da, almost within the Arctic Circle, lies Fort Norman, one of those log-hewn outposts of civilisation which dot the Far North. A little farther down Great Bear Lake enters the Mackenzie, whose icy waters flow on past Fort Good Hope and through the maze oi the Halkett islands into Beaufort -Sea, which is the south-west-erly expanse of the Arctic Ocean.

Some years ago there arrived at Fort Norman two stout-hearted Catholic priests. Just as their predecessors had carried their sublime message through the Barren Lands, so Father Leroux and Father Rouviere ostracised themselve_ from the thing- they loved best to spread the gospel in this fringe of the unknown.

One day, when the North lay stiff in the grip of winter, the spirit moved the two Fathers to journey across Great Bear Lake, and, striking northeast past old Fort Confidence, to do their duty by a band of Huskies (Eskimo) who, they were informed, were camped at the mouth of the Coppermine River. The details of their mission are not known, nor, indeed, will they ever be known, but from it they never returned. The final pages in their history are inscribed on that mysterious scroll which at the appointed time will reveal the history of brave men and true. Months went toy With no sign or word of these fearless souls, till, after a while, there came rumours from within the Arctic Circle that foul murder had been done,

To those who know the North, one thing strange above most others is the medium by which news is circulated through this speechless expanse. It would seem sometimes that trees, rocks, and ice find tongue. A trapper exchanges a few curt words with a Husky, or * trader with a Yellowknife, and forthwith there is set in motion a sort of endless chain which, winding by trail, lake, and portage, transmits with marvellous certitude the happenings of the Wilds. Thus it came about that by ways devious and not readily understandable the North-West Mounted Police became aware that there was something on Coronation Gulf which warranted instant investigation. They learned also that amongst a certain tribe which journeyed yearly from Victoria Land to Prince Albeit Sound, halting midway at the Coppermine, a Husky had been seen wearing a cassock over his oarfbou-skin tunic. It was said, furthermore, that with various hunters of the same tribe there might be discovered a crucifix, a Latin prayer-book, a surplice, and other things remote from the usage of people who'eat raw flesh and who can live Without fire and water.

Th* news halted on the way. for it was not till three years later that justice extended a lons arm. But it came about, quite inevitably, that in due course a patrol of Mounted Police set forth to trace the steps of the van* ished priests and determine their fate, even if it took years. At the head of the patrol was Inspector Lanauze, who know" the Bear Lake country like the palm of his hand. With him were two white men and a native. Traversing, as nearly as possible, the route believed te have been taken by the two priests, they found nothing on the lonely tfilil —nor, indeed, did they expect to. Reaching Bloody Falls, over which the Coppermine tumbles just be* fore it enters the Arctic Ocean, they fell in with Corporal Bruce, of the Herschel Island Post, and Chipmari, a member of the Stefanssotj expedition. It was after Lanauze had explained the object of his patrol, and given Bruce suqh scanty information as h'td drifted into the Bear Lake country, that the latter grimly produced a .undle.

"What 4* it?" apked Lanauze "Things T nicked up a month or two ago." said Pruce, and unrolled them as be spoke. There were a cassock. Mass aprons, and'altar cloths —pathetic relics of the vanished men. The inspector's eves narrowed as be stared. "Where did you get them?" he inouired. Bruce jerked bis thumb northward. "TTu*kv tr'be on the smith shore of the Victoria Island." he Raid briefly. "Ston. bed there a few weeks ago. I reckoned there was something wrona", but couldn't be sure, and they saw that I wasn't sure, and lied to mc. You see," he irbled. "tliis Uri't on niv brut." *

Inspector Lanauze looked northward across thr» skittering expanse of Coro nation Gulf. It was sixty miles as the crow flies. Looking from . a rise of ground tbe ice seemed fairly goprl, %ut he knew full well that it was broken and contorted with "pressure ridges" whose tumbled and serrated walls ran for miles in all directions, walkingtravel a heart-breaking business. But on the other side were the flat-faeeJ, broad-checked, copper-coloured folk whose oily eyes bad seen murder done, and amongst them were those whose bands were stained with white men's •blood. So. without further ado, the inspector signified his intention of starting at onoe with tho dog teams.

They were well out on the ice. headins due north, when the leading dn«» stopped and sniffed at a sledge-track that trailed a sinuous course into the east; and since sledge-tracks mean men, and men mean knowledge. Lanauze. swung off and followed it till, in a few ■hours' travel, he came to a large Husky village whose ivory domes lifted close to in *ho shelter of a" overbrimming cliff. Here, benea,th the curving roof of the largest igloo of all, and from the lips of a hunter whose, face was seamed with the assau't* of mrtnv winter*. Lanauze unearthed the truth.

"I am innuirinar about two-b'aek coats," he said, evenly. "It is three years now since they crimo ''ere-from the Dismal Lake country with •> meisaee—a good the Husk'es. But from that time we have neither seen nor heard of them, Tt is well. thwrefn-«. that you sneak truth."

The Eskimo hunter studied the stent face. He knew of old that the men who wore this uniform were both strong and fcone«t. In unexpected places he found them, and not yet was there any complaint from the brown-faced people about the treatment they had received at the hands of tbe law. Theresas even a tacit understanding throitpsi the length and breadth of the Arctic Circle that. wbil*. "night be possible to do evil thing* «„e bide tham far a time,. th«Ad_y ipW_M surely come wheA' a

reckoning would be demanded. The ancient hunter sat for a moment turning this over at the back of his mind, and finally inquired for what reason the Inspector had come to him for information. The answer was given with startling suddenness. At the hunter's feet were unrolled the black garments that had once hung loosely from the sinewy shoulders of the two Fathers, and he heard the Inspector's voice speaking quietly but with unmistakable emphasis. "These things were taken from tiie while fuen. and it is the King's law that a thief shall not go unpunished. I am told also that with these were taken the lives of the two black-coats. It is well, therefore, that you tell mc all that you know, for it is the law that should a man hide his knowledge of such aJhjug he is brother to the one who has done the deed. I have spoken." There was silence in the igloo till presently the cracked voice of the ancient hunter spoke uncertainly. "It is a true word," he said, "and of that which 1 know I will speak. But it is well, too, that 1 speak not alone, for there are those in this tribe in whose stomachs this thing has been moving. Therefore I will call them."' Thus it was that there crawled through the tunnel a string of short. broad-shouldered, black-eyed men, who. squatting in. a motionless circle turned their inquiring gaze first on the Inspector and then on the hunter to whom it had fallen to purge the village of the knowledge of evil. Lanauze. while he waited, searched their expressionless faces. He had always thought of them as children—amazing children who waged ceaseless war against danger, disease, and death. Wise were they in the ways of the North, for did they" not meet the Polar hears with spears, and, in mortal combat, stand up to the bull walrua when he hoisted himself, dripping, on the shelving ledges? And just then truth came jerkily from the lips of the oldest of them all.

"It is now three winters since the black-coats came from the Dismal Lake country. They had a dog-team and had travelled far, and were very tired, so we gave them food and an igloo to live in. By and by, when they were rested, they told us a strange story about a Great Spirit. It was a different Spirit from any we had known. He lived, the blackcoats said, in the wind and the water and in thp lights that hang in the sky when the sun has gone to sleep through the bitter months. Now, at that time there were in the tribe two men, Sinnisiak and Uluksak, who also listened to the story, and for many days turned it over under their tongue. Then, when the black-coats, having given their message, commenced their journey to Great Bear Lake, Sinnisiak and Uluksak sail they would go with them part of the way, because the snow was deep, and also because they would hear more of the strange story. - ' The hunter paused, and searched the eyes of the motionless circle, till confirmation came with a nodding of greasy heads and a deep-throated rumble of assent. Inspector Lanaues did not stir, and once more the old voice creaked on. "It was after four nights that Sinnisiak and Uluksak came back to the village. Their eyes were cold, like the eyes of those who have seen strange, things, and they spoke hut little, but with them they brought a rifle and cartridges, and a cloth that the black-coats had put over a block of ioe when they did curjous things with a little cup, and a book that no man might read, for in it there were no pictures,' and many other things which were of no use except to the women of the tribe. When I gaw this the heart turned over in my body, and, after asking many questions, Sinnisiak and Uluksak told mc that the black--1 coats were dead. Then, in a little while, they took their dogs and went away." ( "Wlier# are they now?" demanded Lanauze, sharply.

"Across the bitter water, four days' journey," replied the hunter, slowly. '•There is one other thing, also, that lies in my stomach like a block of ice, and of this I would speak. When the tribe heard that the black-coats were dead they were very sorry, for they cajne not to trade nor hunt, but Jo* tell up a story, and even" though the story was strange and we could not understand it, our hearts were touched tnat they should walk thus far to give us the message. 1 have spoken." "Is it a true word you have given mc?" asked Lanauze. "If for a hundred years I should live, and tell the story every day, I could not give you any other word." The hunter's spirit grew lighter as he answered. The evil thing was moving out -of his body. Xow of the departure of the patrol and the dash across the frozen surface of Coronation Gulf, and of. the finding of a clustered village on the south side of Victoria Island where Lady Franklin Point thrusts its rugged shoulders into the Arctic Sea, it is not necessary to speak in detail, for such journeys as these fill every winter in tbe history of the Force. When the Inspector's dog-team pulled up in the middle of the igloos, and the dogs began to gnaw at the ice-balls on their half-frozen pads, a startled and somewhat nervous Husky volunteered the information that at that very moment Sinnisiak wa6 sitting in a certain snow-house, busily engaged in making a bow for the hunting season. A moment later Lanauze stood looking down at the man whose spearhead had been sunk deep in the back of Father Loroux. From the records which exist it is evident that the interview was very brief. .Sinnisiak, recognising the uniforjn, and perceiving instantly with what

grim purpose the Inspector had come, realised that he was cornered. It i* more than probable that, being a fatalist, he had told himself that some day or other this hour would arrive. So he .made no denial whatever, but launched forth into a laboured explanation of how tbe" black-coats threatened and illtreated both Uluksak and himself, and, angry words coming to blows, tney nad finally killed the priests in self-defence. The Inspector's lips tightened. "Where is L'luksak?" he demanded. Sinnisiak thought swiftly. He might, of course, give misleading information, but at the best it would only postpone the inevitable? If, on the other hand, Uluksak were arrested there would be two of them to maintain the story, and thus, a moment's reflection assured him, was the thing to be desired. His last resource gone, Sinnisiak capitulated. "He is in a village''near the mouth of the copper mine." Lanauze grunted contentedly. The mouth of the copper mine was on the way home. "You know this village T'* Sinnisiak nodded. At the head of the procession marched Sinnisiak, making a bee-line for his unsuspecting partner in crime.

Bloody Falls lay fifteen miles to the south-west, and the mouth of Rae River was opening on the right, when, far ahead, were perceived a few black specks moving from the land. Sinnisiak pulled Up and, shading his eye§, stared bard., Presently he turned. .

"It is Uluksak," he announced. "He comes out to hunt the square flipper seal. He has not a rifle but only a spear." The Inspector stared too, but his gaze had not the marvellous power possessed by the brown people of the North. He could only see that there were four black specks and that they moved. "You are sure it is Uluksak? " He hitched his carbine forward as he spoke. •'Any fool can see that," said Sinnisiak, calmly. In half an hour the little group was fairly close. Three of the four Huskies, Whose bright orbs had been taking in even- detail of the approaching party, now' raised their arms in the peace I sign of the North, the peace sign which is midway between a salute and a benei diction, though it lacks both the respect :of the former and the spiritual signific- \ ance of the latter. The arms of the i fourth, however, hung motionless at his I side. I "l fold you it was Uluksak," murmured Sinnisiak with a satisfied grin; And Uluksak it was. In September of last year there arrived in Ottawa the somewhat curt and formal report submitted by Inspector Lanauze. Small mention, if any, is made of the difficulties of- this patrol, but it is much to the point, as are all statements.of the Force. The confessions of the two Huskies are quite complete. Accompanying the priests to Bloody Falls, Father Leroux had been stabbed in the back by Sinnisiak. The first thrust not being deadly, Uluksak completed the murderous work. Father Rouviere thereupon running to the sledge for his rifle, Sinnisiak bad shot him. The disposition of the bodies need not be described. It is ytiicient to suggest that cannibalism is even to-day not altogether unknqwn in the Arctic Circle. The motive for the crime was undoubtedly cupidity. It is true that both Huskies claimed to have beep ilbtreated by the missionaries, but so half-heart-

edly was the charge laid, and so utterly at variance is it with the noble history which the Roman Church has achieved for herself in these solitudes, that the accusation can only be regarded as a childish excuse of these brown-faced and terrible children who live on the edge of the unknown, whose, intelligent matching itself year after year with the wild things of the North, takes on an elemental quality that baffles the reasoning of gentler people. "Sinnisiak and Uluksak were tried, and, being found guilty, were sentenced to death, this being commuted to penal servitude for life. " 'You tell them,' said the Judge to the interpreter, 'that, because they don't know our ways, we won't have them put to death for killing these men. But they must understand, now that they know our law. that if ever they kill again they must suffer.' "The sentence was i 'Mmately reduced to two yeare' detention, which meant that Sinnisiak and Uluksak were kept under the supervision of the police in one of the. forts, where they became so popular with their guards that they were allowed to rock the baby of one of the policemen to sleep—a task which highly delighted them, although I am afraid there were not many mothers who would have cared to leave their offspring in the charge of cannibalistic savages." The extraordinary sequel to the crime, however, shews how amenable the Eskimo is to (toed influences. To show his eraditude for his good, treatment at Calaary, and for what had been done for him b~ the North-West Mounted Police. Sinnisiak enlisted as a special constable in the Force, and today holds the unione record of being the only native enrolled.